Heeding Olivia's warning, Lewis left the garden, investigating the library, a large cavernous room, before returning to his room. It wasn't until he arrived in the dining hall that he saw Cassandra for the first time since she had stormed out that morning. As soon as she saw him, she made a beeline for him. For a moment, he feared the argument was about to start again, but he was proved wrong instantly. Throwing her arms around him, she whispered an apology in his ear.

Waving away her apology, he had been more interested in what she had been doing while he was supposed to be in his lesson. As it turned out, she had also been in the library around the same time as he had been there. After breakfast, Christine had taken her around some parts of the tower that had been set aside for the companions of students who had been brought to the tower. Thankfully, she seemed more than content with what they had to offer her.

'You'll need this,' a sharp voice said from behind them, a piece of paper dropping onto the table in front of him. Looking up, he was just in time to see Ellen walking away.

'What's that?' Cassandra asked.

Picking up the piece of paper, he unfolded it. It was his schedule, which he had left with Olivia earlier. 'It's my schedule,' he said. As far as he could see, the only change that had been made was the number of rooms for three of his lessons. Did that mean that Olivia had managed to get him a different teacher? What he assumed were Ellen's initials were still written underneath.

'Shouldn't you get going? It's almost one,' Cassandra said as she examined the page over his shoulder.

'I guess so,' he sighed as he stood up. 'I'll see you later.' With a glance in the direction of the teacher's table, he tried to see if Olivia was still there, but he couldn't find her.

As he set off for the classroom on the fourth floor, he hoped that he hadn't gotten her into any trouble with Christine. It was something that weighed on his mind as he climbed the stairs and checked the numbers on the doors as he looked for room fourteen. In the end, he had almost walked a full circle before he found it.

'Inside!' Ellen snapped, pushing him through the door before he had even had a chance to knock. Like the room he had been assigned to earlier, this one was set out the same, right down to the handcuffs in the centre of the square table. The only difference was that a large cupboard stood against one of the walls. 'Take off your cloak.'

'What?' he asked, taken aback.

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'Your cloak, take it off. Shirt as well,' she added when she saw that he had one on underneath.

Picking up the handcuffs from the table, she took them over to the cupboard, putting them inside. When she turned around, she had three sheepskin straps in her hands. As she moved towards him, he took a step back. With a look that could have petrified him, Lewis stopped moving, allowing her to advance.

With her hand, she turned him around so that he was facing away from her. At the touch of her cold hands, his back arched, trying to escape her. 'Stay still,' she instructed.

One by one, she took the sheepskin straps, fastening two of them over his shoulders like a pair of braces. The third one she fastened around his chest. Turning him around once she had fastened the buckle, Ellen examined him.

'What's this for?' he asked.

She ignored him. 'You went to Christine about my methods of teaching.'

'No, I didn't,' he replied. So she didn't know that it had been Olivia. Christine must have spoken to her before giving her Lewis' schedule.

'Liar!' she shouted, shoving him roughly against the wall. He was just straightening up when he felt the straps tighten. A second later, it felt as if the straps had been lined with pins, the points digging into his skin.

With a shout, Lewis tried to pull the straps away, but they just grew tighter, the pain growing deeper. After what felt like an eternity, they relented, and he was able to prise them away, only to find out that they were now covered with spikes. Slowly, blood began to leak from the wounds across his chest.

'I didn't say anything!' he shouted, advancing on her.

In a flash, she raised her hand, the straps tightening sharply. 'You must learn to control your emotions.'

'You need to learn to teach,' he snapped. He knew what was going to happen if he retorted, but the words were out of his mouth before he could stop himself. For the third time, the straps tightened. This time was significantly worse. Not only did the pain send him crashing to his knees, but the straps became so tight that he could barely breathe.

When Ellen finally allowed the straps to relax, he lay on the floor, his eyes shut as he gasped for air. He didn't need to open them to know there was blood seeping out from under the straps; he could feel it running across his skin. He had to get out of here. The thought had barely been in his mind for a second when the straps contracted sharply. Looking up, he saw a look of confusion on Ellen's face. 'Are you thinking about leaving us so soon?' she laughed. 'I wouldn't do that if I were you.'

'Why not?'

'They know when you think about breaking the bond,' she said. Crouching down, she leaned close to him and continued in a whisper. 'Don't forget, her life is in my hands as well.'

'Don't you dare hurt her,' he hissed as Ellen twisted her fingers slightly, the straps tightening a little.

For a moment, she considered him lying on the floor covered in blood. 'We'll see,' she said menacingly. 'Get up! It is time we got your lesson started.'

Wait, the lesson hadn't even started yet? If this wasn't the lesson, then he dreaded what was going to come next. There was one thing he knew for certain, though: she was going to look for any excuse to hurt him, and there was nothing he could do about it. It was suffering, or she would hurt Emily, or worse. Longing to be with her only made things worse, though, with the straps sensing his desire to be away from the tower.